New Year, New You

Swimming/ Swimming is a great way to get a cardiovascular workout. It is one of the best exercises for your body because it is non-weight bearing. With a just a half hour of doing the Breaststroke, the lowest intensity stroke, 180 calories can be burned. From a longer session, you can burn way more if desired. Not only do you burn calories, but the Breaststroke works the chest muscles and inner thigh, shoulder, triceps, legs and hamstrings. Not only are you burning calories, but are toning your entire body. More intensive strokes burn more calories in a 30-min session: freestyle-300 calories; backstroke-240 calories; and butterfly-450 calories.

Karate/ Karate is one of the best total-body workouts you can get. Karate helps you shed fat, build muscle and can even improve your concentration. A 30-minute Karate workout burns over 350 calories on average if you weigh about 150 pounds. Not only is Karate a good way to get fit, it’s fun and you get to learn some awesome defensive techniques!

Tai Chi/ Tai Chi is a pretty relaxing workout where in one half hour session you can burn 140 calories. In addition, you can improve your strength, flexibility, concentration, and balance. Also, Tai Chi can be done anywhere at any time.

Healthier Substitutions

Quinoa vs. White Rice/ Quinoa is a high-fiber, high-protein substitute to white rice. One cup of quinoa has roughly 40 calories fewer than the same amount of white rice. White rice has almost 15 times more grams of carbs and quinoa gives you 5 more grams of fiber and double the protein. Not only will quinoa help cut calories, but it will fill you up faster so you end up eating less. If quinoa does not suit your fancy plain, add a small amount of Tai peanut sauce and it will add a kick of heat and great flavor.

Ice cream vs. sorbet/ Baskin Robbin’s sample sized (2.5 oz) ice cream has 150 calories and 7 grams of fat, whereas the same sized sorbet has 80 calories and zero grams of fat. Sorbet has less Calcium, Vitamin A and Iron, but it has much more Vitamin C than ice cream. Ice cream also has less sugar, but Sorbet is loaded with fruit. Sorbet is a healthier alternative to ice cream, but keep in mind, it’s still not a healthy treat. But, if you are craving something sweet, reach for the sorbet instead of the ice cream.

Changing Habits

Walk your Dog/ Get off the couch and take your pooch for a walk around the block! Get your muscles working and the calories burning.

Don’t go to the grocery store when you are hungry/ When you are hungry and walk into a grocery store, your head is not making the decisions anymore; it is solely your stomach. Go after a meal so you are less inclined to grab that big bag of potato chips and that yummy chocolate ice cream.

Keep a food Journal/ Keeping a food journal is a good way to track eating habits. At the end of the week, look at what you have eaten and see if there are some healthier replacements for your usual diet. Also, having to write down those doughnuts you ate for breakfast or that bag of potato chips you had as a snack is not something you want to do, so keeping a food journal may dissuade you from eating those foods.

Don’t cheat/ If you take a cheat day, there will be more and more cheat days until you are off your health kick and in relapse. Yes, keeping something going is tough for the first few weeks, but don’t give into temptation! If you want a new you, you can’t go back to your old ways. Be strong!